Dunford Bridge Farmer Wins Coservation Award
A farmer from Dunford Bridge, South Yorkshire has been announced as the winner
of the South and West Yorkshire Area in the prestigious Tye Award, which recognises
the contribution of farmers in Yorkshire and the North East to wildlife conservation
and environmental protection. The Award is organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural
Society and the region’s Farming and Wildlife Advisory Groups (FWAG).
Home Farm at Carlecotes is one of five area winners, and now goes forward to
the finals, with the overall winner announced on Wednesday 9 July at the Great
Yorkshire Show at Harrogate. In addition, all the area winners have the option
of going forward to next year’s prestigious Silver Lapwing Award. The five areas
represented are North Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, South & West Yorkshire, Northumberland
and Tyne Tees.
Harold Smith and his son Richard run a flock of 1,200 ewes on their upland farm
at Carlecotes, with 250 acres of in-bye grassland and over 4,000 acres of moorland
– a large part of which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
They have been undertaking a programme of moorland regeneration for a number
of years and the farm is also in the Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
The hill land runs a flock of Swaledale sheep, while Welsh Halfbreds occupy the
marginal land and Mules and Texel crosses run on the better quality grassland.
The majority of the ewes are put to the Texel, with lambs fattened on the farm.
The Smiths also run a few pure Swaledale tups to produce their own replacements
for the hills and will keep some of the Texel cross gimmer lambs as replacements
as well. Welsh Halfbreds and Mules are bought in as yearlings.
Regeneration work on moorland at nearby Tinker Hill - where Mr Harold Smith is
a tenant and also gamekeeper for the landowner - has been ongoing for the past
10 to 15 years, under an ESA (Environmentally Sensitive Area) management agreement
focusing on regenerating the heather and dwarf shrubs and improving the habitat
for wildlife. Heather seed has been applied to the moor as part of this programme.
‘There is now a good mix of heather, cotton grass, crowberry and bilberry and
numbers of lapwing, snipe, curlew, meadow pippet and skylarks have greatly increased
on that moor, we also see the odd oyster catcher and occasional reed bunting,’
says Mr Smith.
The sheep have had to be kept off sections of the moor altogether for some of
that period, but will be introduced back under strict management.
Now the Smiths are undertaking a different ESA agreement on a further 3,000 acres
of moorland on Snailsden Moor which is rented from Yorkshire Water and is designated
an SSSI.
Some of the lower lying land at Home Farm was entered into the Countryside Stewardship
Scheme five years ago, including 15 acres of upland hay meadows. Under the scheme
these receive no inputs. Stock is kept off the meadow from the middle of May,
with the grass not being cut until after 15th July.
‘We are required to cut these fields for hay two out of every three years,’ says
Mr Smith. Other in-bye pasture is managed under Stewardship with zero inputs and
restricted grazing during the nesting season.
Capital grants schemes under Countryside Stewardship and ESA have also assisted
with the repair of two and a half miles of dry stone walling on the farm, the
work being carried out by Harold’s youngest son Robert. This is ongoing, with
three quarters of a mile of wall still to be restored.
ESA management agreements also exist on other parts of the in-bye land to encourage
lapwing and skylarks. ‘We have put some scrapes in to give insects and grubs for
the lapwing chicks,’ says Mr Smith. ‘We have always looked upon conservation as
a benefit to farming. I think that if you have a diverse habitat then everything
will benefit,’ he says.
One of the judges, Brian Beeney from East Yorkshire FWAG, said that they had
been impressed with Harold Smith’s standard of husbandry, his enthusiasm for conservation
work and his awareness of the benefits. He said they were also impressed with
the way he had worked with the owners of the land in his restoration of the heather
on what was tired old moorland and with the quality of the stone walling which
had been carried out.
The awards will be presented by Mrs Alison Saville who gave the trophy in 1989
in memory of her grandfather Howard Tye, founder of Tye Trailers, and also her
father Kenneth Tye. Now sponsored by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the
Awards are part of the Society’s charitable work which sees more than £1million
allocated to aid to the farming community each year.